I HATE you Mother Nature, but you will NEVER ruin an AFM event for me.

6:30 AM Saturday Morning. Hung over. Rain pouring down in Concord. I stumble in the general direction of the computer to refresh the weather underground radar. If the wind was blowing the way the wind always blows, there would be two days of racing for me to shoot. Mother Nature, however, is a whore.

I get dressed and grab the tattered piece of paper that I have been scrawling race numbers that were PM’d to me onto for the past week. I glance at the monitor and the abnormal south to north swirling orange, yellow and green blotches, and then at the paper. Eight race numbers, only one of someone that I know for sure I have talked to before. Swirling colors on the screen, eyes back at the paper, and then out the window at the drops of rain disrupting the puddles in the driveway. Eight numbers.

I spend much of my time going unnoticed, after all I do commute on a motorbike. Maybe none of those 8 numbers on a piece of paper will notice that I stayed home. It is pouring rain. Maybe all 8 of those numbers had the same thought that I did. Then again, maybe they didn’t.

I got to the track 2 short hours later, and did a quick lap around the paddock before settling in at my home away from home.

Thanks to Gator and the Soldiers, I have not had to worry about shelter (or beer) at the last couple seasons. I then set out to find those 8 numbers with minimal success. It turns out that when it rains, some people don’t even unpack their bikes, and others cover them with beauty and the beast blankets.

This was the best I could do. To the other 6 numbers on that piece of paper, I am sorry I couldn’t find you guys. Next round. Rich, you said you guys would be pretty close together, so I knew your shot would be easy, I thought you would make me work a bit more though…

While I did have a setlist to follow, I did plan on seeking out my friends too. What I did not plan on was this guy hiring me to be his personal photog for the weekend.

I think I got more shots of Rory this round than round two…

I was not about to let a little rain get me down. I was at a racetrack. I had a camera. I was surrounded by bored racers… There would be wheelies…

…and stoppies.

…and whatever the hell was going on here…

The rain let up, and they started to get the track dry.

The grids were chalked…

Sadly, these were the only bikes on course…

I discovered the reason that the Feel Like A Pro Ninjas are so fast, as I got a rare look at the internals while they were working on Dos’ bike.

And what would a trip to T-Hill be without someone jumping the curb at turn five?

I go to the track for the people as much as the racing. You guys are awesome. Thanks for getting out there, so I have something to do on the weekends! I leave you with some random shots from the weekend. See ya at Sears!

Max – 4theriders, thank you for coming out and braving the weather to show your support for us riders. It’s this passion that always comes through in the photos.
Thanks for being there for us! ~ Eric Kaz Kondo